Multiple slat type folding door



April 4, 1961 P. M. PAULSRUDE MULTIPLE SLAT TYPE FOLDING DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed Dec. 17, 1958 INVENTOR. Phil/)0 fiid aulsn/de BY 19 7'TORNE' Y April 4, 1961 P. M. PAULSRUDE 2,978,020

MULTIPLE SLAT TYPE FOLDING DOOR Filed Dec. 1'7, 1958 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Philip MP0 ulsrude INVENTOR.

HHy.

"slats are connected.

2,978,020 V Fatented Apr. 4, 1961 2,978,020 t p MULTIPLE'SLAT TYPE FOLDING noon Philip M. Paulsrude, Shelton, Wash., assignor to Wood I i Specialty Products, Inc., Mountlake Terrace, Wash. Filed Dec. 17, 1958, Ser. No. 781,121

a '7 Claims. (c1. ao-1s This invention relates, to-aj multiple slat type folding Fig. 7.,is. a view v similar to Fig. 6" but showing two adjacent slats folded in face to' face relation.

F g. 8 is a view incross section showing an edge portion of one of the slats with the connector strip omitted. Fig. 9 is a fragmentary sectional view showing a modified form of my invention.

Fig. 10 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing a modified form of connector strip by which the slats are door, and this application is a continuation in-part ofmy earlier application, Serial Number 476,789 filed December21 ,.l954,now. abandoned.

. .An object of this inventionis to provide an efiicient and ornamental multiple slat type folding structure of I fairly solid material, such aswood, whichcan be used as p means so that the slats may -be compactly folded face a door in a doorway or which can be used in other ways impamtmning iv space in a bui ding or other structure,

Another object of this invention is to provideavertical space in which to swing. j T

Other objects are to provide a non-pliable folding door which is inexpensive to manufacture, which is durable and long lasting, which is easy to install and easy to operate and which forms an attractive appearing, eflicient and substantial closure for an opening.

1 Another, object is to provide, a multiple slat folding 'istructure in which adjoining; edges of adjacent' slats are rounded and-have longitudinal grooves which, considered cross sectionally of the slats',are of keyholelshape and are offset relative to the medialplane of the slats and in ,whichtheedge portions offadjace nt "slats are hinged together by connector strips each comprisingtwo parallel bead portions seated'i n the widerparts. of the grooves so that the unfoldingor extension movement of the slats 'is checked by the connector strips before said slats reach 1 a common plane andwhile theslats arestill at an angle 5 or inclined herringbone fashion relative to each other. 1

Other objects of this invention will be apparent from the followingdescription taken in connection with the accompanying drawings.

' In the drawings,

slat type folding door which space saving in that it, operates. like a draw curtain and does not require any 'of the a ioiningslats and connected by a thinner pliable web portion,,the grooves being positioned and arranged The grooves 12, 13 are offset around the curved edge of 'theslat so that the entrance or mouth of each groove is positioned a substantial distance from the point y. This offsetting of the grooves 12, 13 around the curved edge Fig. 1 is a "front elevation oir a small scale ofa Fig; 2 is a view in cross section showing a plurality of door slats in fully extended or closed door position double folding door constructed in accordance with my invention showing a door at one side of a door'way folded and a door at the other side of the doorway extended.

and showing parts of thedoor frame with which the said Fig. 3 is asectionalview to Fig. 2 showing a plurality of the door slats in a folded or open door position.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary sectional view showing the' top portion of a door frame. togetherwith means for suspending the slats of a door therefrom. a n Fig. 5 is a detached, fragmentary perspective view showing a piece of flexible connector strip used to hinge together adjacent edge portions of the door slats.

" Fig. 6is a fragmentary-sectional view on a larger scale than Figs. 2 and 3 showing the hinged edge portions of two adjacent door slats as they would appear when fully extended. i t

' ance of the door. nector strips is preferably slightly elastic. 70.

a fitlttQQWi EX PF. d se y; Phas n P11,

spaced apart when the slats are extended to provide a modified appearance. l

Fig. 11 is a view similar to Fig. 3 and showing the folded arrangement ofthe slats and connector strips of the modification shown in Fig. 10.

Like'reference numerals designate like parts throughout the several views.

In a general way this invention comprises an accordion Ttype folding slat structure composed of a plurality of non-pliable slats-10, preferably of wood, and hinged together in edge to edge relation by pliable connector to face ormay be unfolded or extended or opened out into a position in whichsaid slats are more nearly in edge to edge relation but in which adjoining slats are still inclined herringbone fashion relative to each other so that they present a pleated or accordion effect which is pleasing in appearance. j V v Each slat 10 is provided with rounded edge portions 11 and each edge portion 11 which is to be connected 30.

with another slatis provided with a longitudinally extending groove, it being understood that the outermost edge portion of each marginal slat of a group will not need to be grooved. Each groove comprises a part 12 of narrow width which extends from the exterior of that slat inwardly and terminates in a wider'bottom part 13.

Preferablythis wider bottom part 13 is approximately z cylindrical but obviously it can be otherwise ,shaped as long as it is wider th an'the part 12 of the groove. Preferably the edges at opposite sides of the entrance to the 40 groove 12 are slightly rounded, as shown by 14, Fig. 8.

Each groove 12, 13 extends throughout the length of the slat and is of approximately keyhole shape, considered cross sectionally of the slat. The broken line x-x in Fig. 8 indicates the medial plane of the slat 10 and this plane intercepts the curved edge of the slat at point y.

of the slat helps to provide a construction in which the opening movement of the slats relative to each other is limited, as hereinafter explained. a I I The slats 10 are connected togetheredge to edge by pliable connector stripseach formed of twojparallel spaced apart edge beads 15 connected with each'otherby an integral web; part 16. The edge beads 15 seat within the wider bottom parts 13'of the grooves and the thinner web 16 is disposed within the narrower partslzof the grooves and .theconnector strips thus forma pliable hinge connectionwhich extends from end to end of the slats and precludes the possibility of an open crack between the slats. The edge beads 15 are .firmly anchored :in the wider parts 13 of the grooves and will not pull out of these grooves and it is not necessary to cement the connector-strips in the grooves. The connector strips may. be of any desired color and any visible portions of these strips will tend to add to the ornamental appear- At least the web part 16 of the con- The connector strips 15, 16 may be threaded or-drawn' into the grooves from the'ends of the slats and the lower two narrow slats 10a and 10b, which preferably are'half the width of the slats 10, are provided at one edge of the folding door and the outermost narrow slat l a is rigidly secured, as byscrews 18, to the door frame 17.

' With this arrangement the door, when extended as *s'hown in Fig. 2, will bernidway between 'the two sides of the door frame 17. Obviously one of the full width slats can be secured directly to the door frame, in which instance the door, when extended, will be offset to one side of the medial plane ofthe'door frame.

Each slat is supported or suspended from the header or top part 19 of the door frame by a hollow track 20 which receives rollers or gliders 21. These gliders or rollers 21 are carried by T-shaped hangers 22 which are secured to the upper end portions of the slats.

Opening and closing of these doors can be facilitated by providing hand hold means 23 of any suitable type on the marginal slat of the door, see Fig. 1. The doors will ordinarily remain in an extended position, but if desired, the hand hold means 23 may be of a magnetic type or other means may be used'to hold said doors extended or in closed door position.

, Fig. 9 shows a modified form of my invention in which slats '25 similar to the slats 10 are provided with grooves 26 which are wider at their bottoms and narrower at the locations where they intercept the surfaces of the slats and which, are positioned in the slats similarly to the grooves 12, 13. These grooves 26 are adapted to receive connector strips which comprise wider marginal bead portions 27 connected by a thinner pliable web portion 28. The form of invention shown in Fig. 9 functions similarly to the previously described structure shown in Figs. l-8. I

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 10 and 11, the only difference over the embodiment shown in Figs. 1-8, resides in the provision of a web part 16' of greater lateral width. By this arrangement the interconnected slats 10 are spaced apart laterally when extended, thereby rendering the webs visible from both sides of the door assembly.

In both of the embodiments illustrated, it is the oblique arrangement of the grooves 12, 13 with respect to the medial plane of the slats, that limits the included angle between adjacent slats of the assembly to less than 180 Thus, in Fig. 10 the slat s are shownin fully extended condition, achieved by pulling upon the hand holdmeans 23 (Fig. 1) in the direction opposite the door frame ,17, to the maximum limit at which the exposed portions iof the "webs 16" and the hangers 22 lie on a common rectilinear plane.

This plane is illustrated in Figs. 10 and ll by the dash line 20 which represents the longitudinal axis of the supporting track 20. Any furtherpulling force on the hand hold means 23 to cause further extension of the slats, functions merely to stretch the exposed portions of the webs 16' along this plane. Hence,

since the grooves 12' at opposite sides of each slat emerge exteriorly on opposite sides of the medial plane of the lslat, it is apparent 'that the included angle b etweenadjacent slats in the fully extended assembly, is always less than l80.

The foregoing condition also obtains in' the'ernboditrated in Fig. 10 is achieved. Thus, whether the "webs are I proportioned "in "width to effect either abutment "er thes'lat edges f'11,'j"as in Fig. 2, or 'sepafation' thereof fies-in at fulle'xt'ens'ion of theasseiiiblyftheiig- -"'.zlag--or-herrinfgbbfie aaahgemenror s'lats' 'is'ruaiiitained,

and the only difference resides in the maximum degree of included angle between-adjacent slats and the 'orriamental effect achieved either by closing the space between adjacent slats (Fig. 2) so as to expose the web 16 only on one side of the assembly, or by exposing the web to view from both sides, as shown in Fig. 10. In either case, all of the slats in an assembly are positioned at a uniform angle relative to each other, for most pleasing appearance whenthe assembly is extended, and the slats automatically move into face to faceabutment upon collapsing of the assembly to open door position.

Folding of the slats in thepredetermined face to face relationship-illustrated is assisted by the pivotal suspension of the slats from the track 20 by means of the hangers 22. Since the hand pressure applied in the direction of the door frame 17 is exerted on the end of the terminal slat which is disposed obliquely with respect to the'plane 2.0, said terminal slat tends to rotateabout the pivot hanger; 22, thus initiatingthe the rotation of the intermediate slats in the direction to reduce the included angle between adjacent slats. Moreover, since each of the slats is supported pivotally from the track 20, they are constrained against lateral movement which,

in the absence of pivotal support, might cause random buckling of the slats outwardly from the plane of the door opening. r e

The door of this invention saves space, operates easily, folds compactly, is decorative and attractive in appearance and is fairly strong and substantial in construction. The slats are easily' connecte d together by the connector strips and the strips do not require any cementing. This makes :it possible to add or detach slats during installation and thus adapts this structure to openings of varying widths. For narrow doorways only one of these doors need be used.

The foregoing description and accompanying drawings clearly disclose preferred embodiments of my invention, but it will be understood that this disclosure is illustrative and that changes may be made within the scope and spirit of the following claims.

I claim: v

1. A' folding panel for use as a door and partition comprising a plurality of edge to edge adjacent rigid slats, the edge of each slat which adjoins another having "a longitudinally extending diagonal edge groove, said groove being narrow at the surface of the slat and expanding in width inwardly of the slat, the opening of each groove at the surface of the slat being offset from the"m edi'al plane of the slat, the grooves in opposite edges of the slat opening toward opposite sides of the slat, a connector strip connecting adjoining edges of each pair of slats, each connector strip comprising two the panel and alternate pairs of grooves and a connector strip engaged therein being on opposite sides of the panel, each connector strip providing parallelface to face foldmg of two slats that it connects but when the panel is extended, normally maintaining the two slats that it connects at an angle of less than with respect to each other to'maintainthe slats of the panel in substantially uniform zigzag relation.

2. The folding panel of claim 1 including'suspending "means projecting from the 'upper end of the slatsfor slidably'"suspen'diug the slats pivotallyfroman overhead support and for guiding the slats across the opening during'thefolding and unfolding of the slats.

3. The folding panel of claim 1 wherein the'width of the web part of the connector strip is proportioned to cause abutment of the adjacent edges of adjoining slats when thefslats are extended.

"4. The folding panel of claim 1 wherein the 'width of the web part of the connector strip is proportioned to space apart the adjacent edges of adjoining slats when the slats are extended.

5. A folding panel for use as a door and partition for an opening, comprising more than two adjacent parallel upright slats, means for securing one of the end slats to a support defining the opening, each of the adjacent longitudinal edges of adjacent slats being provided with a longitudinally extending diagonal groove, each groove being narrow at the surface of the slat and wider at its inner end, the opening of each groove being positioned laterally from the line where the medial plane of the slat intercepts the edge thereof, the grooves at the opposite edges of a slat opening toward opposite sides of the slats, adjacent slats being arranged with their adjacent grooves opening toward the same side of the slats, a connector strip connecting adjacent edges of adjacent slats, each connector strip comprising two thicker edge portions seated in the wider parts of the grooves in adjacent slats and a thinner flexible web part extending between the two thicker edge portions and pivotally interconnecting the slats, the cit-center arrangement of the groove openings positioning the web part of the connector strip laterally from the medial plane of theconnected slats, thereby limiting relative angular. unfolding movement of adjacent slats to less than 180 and initiating parallel face to face relation, an overhead guide track adapted for mounting on an overhead support defining the opening, and suspending means projecting from the upper end of the slats and slidably engaging the guide track for suspending the slats pivotally from the track, the track guiding the slats across the opening during folding and unfolding of the slats.

6. The folding panel of claim 5 wherein the width of the web part of the connector strip is proportioned to cause abutment of the adjacent edges of adjoining slats when the slats are extended.

7. The folding panel of claim 5 wherein the width of the web part of the connector strip is proportioned to space apart the adjacent edges of adjoining slats when the slats are extended.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,458,537 Skelly I Jan. 11, 1947 2,507,965 Eichner May 16, 1950 2,770,298 Hiatt --l Nov. 13, 1956 2,812,023 Laity et a1. Nov. 5, 1957 2,897,514 Collins Aug. 4, 1959 2,897,515 Collins Aug. 4, 1959 

